Estimating Your Annual Mileage

Calculating How Much You Drive

Published on Friday, 19 September 2014
by Andrea Bland

As of July 28th 2014 all odometer readings captured during a vehicles National Car Test (NCT) will be printed on the NCT Certificate. Each cert will have up to a maximum of 3 previous readings printed on them with the idea being that this might provide some consumer protection for both those selling and buying cars going forward.

This announcement, coupled with the recent changes regarding the clocking of odometers, is aimed at giving the consumer more security when it comes to making a motor purchase.

This NCT cert change not only ensures that the vehicle should match up to the mileage being displayed but it is also a hack for helping you estimate how many miles you travel during the year. The reason why this is considered important is because your annual mileage can potentially impact the cost of your car insurance premium.

The reason for this is because the statistical chances of you being involved in traffic related incident increases with the increase amount of time you are in your vehicle. To offset this risk a car insurer may quote those with greater annual mileage at a higher rate than a driver who drives less during the year.

What figure do you think accurately reflects your yearly mileage? Let’s take a look at the average Irish driver.

The average Irish private motorist usually drives the following amount on an annual basis:

17,000 kilometres (10,500 miles) on average for petrol vehicles.

24,000 kilometres (15,000 miles) on average for diesel vehicles.

But many of us can overestimate the amount of miles we actually put in behind the wheel each week which can potentially lead to us not providing the correct figures come renewal time.

To help you get the best value car insurance quote we’ve got a simple method you could use to estimate your annual mileage.

How to Estimate Your Annual Mileage

There are a number of ways for you to estimate your annual mileage. Taking my driving habits into account we’re going to look at one of the most easiest and straightforward methods which involves the following.

Step One.

Record the number of miles/kilometres you travel on your average daily commute. Note this figure for each day (Monday to Friday).

Step Two

Add all the daily figures together to get your total for the Monday to Friday.

Monday to Friday I normally drive about 160 KM (32 KM x 5) per week.

To get a semi accurate average for the week I need to also include my weekend figure. It can vary between person but the average for me is about 50 KM (25 KM x 2).

That means my weekly average is about 210 KM.

Step Three

Using this weekly figure you should be able to calculate your monthly figure. You can do this by multiplying the weekly figure by 4.

E.G: 210 KM x 4 = 840 KM (per month).

Step Four

Using the monthly figure you can now estimate my yearly figure. This can do this by multiplying the monthly figure by 12.

E.G: 840 KM x 12 = 10,080

That’s just one example of how you can estimate your annual mileage but each individual’s figure can differ depending on their employment and lifestyle. Why not let us know how you calculate your annual mileage via Facebook or Twitter.

Something simple like calculating your annual mileage correctly could help you save as some insurers or brokers may give discounts to drivers who have low yearly mileage figures.

Providing the most accurate information, when you are completing a motor cover quote, not only means that your cover is correct but it could also help you save on the cost of your renewal.